Evil Genius Impressions

The game is heavily influenced by the classic strategy game Dungeon Keeper, which isn't too surprising since the development team includes members who worked at the legendary British game studio Bullfrog. And Elixir's Demis Hassabis also cites X-Com as another influence on the game. In Evil Genius, you'll construct a secret base on a remote tropical island from which you can train minions and henchmen to go out into the world and commit nefarious deeds. Designing the base is incredibly simple, using a drag-and-drop interface. All you have to do is highlight the size and shape of a room, and then select from menus how to furnish it. If you want a training room, you can install special equipment that will, for example, train spies to pose as diplomats. In that case, you'll see a minion practicing the art of hand-shaking and bowing with a bunch of humanoid-shaped dummies. Once the minion is trained up, he'll transform into a diplomat that you can send off and plant as a mole inside a foreign government.